$4-million verdict for LAPD captain over fake nude photo shared by cops

Lillian Carranza holds a news conference to announce the arrest of four suspects in connection to a spate of high-profile burglaries at the homes of singers, athletes and other celebrities in Los Angeles on Oct. 2, 2018. “It is all very well having policies and procedures when it comes to sexual harassment, but they need to be followed and in the LAPD that starts with the chief of police.” During the nearly two-week trial, Carranza testified the image was so traumatizing that she was hospitalized on Christmas Eve 2018 with severe high blood pressure as she struggled with suicidal ideation. LAPD Chief Michel Moore testified last week in Carranza’s lawsuit against the department that the image was intended to “ridicule, embarrass or harass or smear” her, but he opted not to send a department-wide message about it because he feared “it had the potential of becoming viral.” Moore acknowledged on the witness stand that he had sent a message to all personnel in connection with a racist valentine-style meme mocking the 2020 killing of George Floyd that was shared by an LAPD officer in 2021. Moore said in Carranza’s case, the department’s effort was focused on finding the “person responsible for sending that out.” California LAPD captain files sexual harassment lawsuit, alleging culture of sexism, cruel pranks in department A Los Angeles Police captain alleged in a lawsuit against the department that she was the victim of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment after a “deeply humiliating” photo of a nude woman was passed around the force that some falsely claimed was her. An LAPD adjudication of Carranza’s complaint found the photograph had been distributed in at least “four different locations at different times” and “was portrayed to various officers as an image of Carranza.” An investigation said it was not possible to identify who initiated the photo-sharing.